Magic and Mishaps
by ReikoMizutani
Summary: Taryn Logan was never normal, after all, she's a witch. In her old town, the kids only liked her because of her magic, up until said magic went awry and she was forced to relocate. Taryn has hope for JFK High, since she knows there are several witch students there, plus, she's made herself over in the hope of making the A-List. The biggest question: can she keep her witchy secret?
1. First Day

Today is the scariest day of my life. It's barely the start of my junior year, at a new school where everyone is already sorted into their cliques and I'm in the outliers. Of course, the art of popularity is complicated. I don't exactly care to be popular, but I'm most certainly not up for being the new kid with no friends two weeks after the school year has already started.

To be popular is difficult. You have to fit the aesthetic of the student body, which from what I've seen, is straight, glossy hair, expensive clothes and six pounds of makeup. I personally can't afford the crap they have on, but when you're a witch with a low moral compass when it comes to magical shoplifting, the price of designer clothes isn't a big issue.

What exactly do I mean by magical shoplifting? Well, if I have the right rhyme in mind and I know exactly what I want, it'll be there in my closet. However, in magic, everything comes from something, which means all of my ratty old sweaters and jeans are in a Versace store somewhere and my closet is full of runway-worthy clothes.

However, I'm also a crappy witch, and my new sexy wardrobe is thanks to my older cousin Aislynn. She's having her Samsorta this year, and I'll bet she's going to be the girl to lead the wonderment spell too. I, on the other hand am stuck doing megels every day because my mother refuses to give me a copy of the _Authorized_ _and Absolute Reference Handbook to_ \- okay, screw that. My spellbook, basically. My older brother has one, my cousin has one, my mother and aunt have their own copies, but not me. I've always gotten the short end of the stick with magic. Even when I stole my brother's copy to try and learn some of the spells, I could never do them right. It appears the only spells I'm good at are teleportation spells, which while useful, aren't all that fun.

I sigh, and spray my hair with glitter. I look at the porcelain face in the mirror, the girl who's supposed to be the popular girl version of Taryn Logan, the girl who has to dress to impress to get anywhere in the cliques. When I walked into JFK High, I had to _be_ popular.

"I hope you know that shit isn't gonna make you any friends."

I grit my teeth and turn to face Keith. "I don't care what you think."

"The feeling is mutual."

"Then go to work and leave me alone." I turn back to the mirror, my skin crawling.

Keith steps up behind me and yanks my hair back. I yell in pain and struggle.

"You know, maybe I should give that Versace store a call and tell them where all the clothes have disappeared off to. In fact, I have some pictures of all the missing clothes, right in your closet." He shoves me, and I bang my leg into the table. Keith laughs at me, then walks out of the room.

With tears in my eyes, I look down at my leg, which is thankfully not bleeding. I take a few breaths to compose myself, then gather up my stuff and grab the batteries off my desk.

 _"Take me to the place inside my mind,_

 _the power of my fists shall ye bind!"_

* * *

"Alright class, let's give a warm welcome to our new student, Taryn Logan."

I wave. "Hey. I'm Taryn, I'm seventeen and I'm from Los Angeles."

I see several girls perk up from that last statement. I only lived there for a year, but I had been pretty close to a lot of those high-end stores. Of course, I'd done some magical shoplifting there before we moved.

"Los Angeles, how interesting." Says the clearly uninterested teacher. "We do have one more seat in the back, next to Juliana."

I glance back at one of the two glamour girls in the back. The one the teacher points out waves and smiles at me, her teeth perfectly straight and white. Her hair is brown with amber highlights and she's wearing a black tank top paired with a gray denim jacket and skirt. She's clearly popular.

I sit down at the desk and lace my fingers together, resting my chin on them. The girl is trying to get my attention, but I'm pretty much lost in my own little world. I'm wondering if there are witches here. I'm wondering if I can pop over to Lozacea at lunch. I'm wondering when Aislynn is going to visit again.

Finally, I glance at the girl with a soft smile. "Hi. Did you need something?"

"I wanted to know if you'd like to sit with me and Melissa at lunch, today. We'd love to introduce you to the fashion show crew." Beside her, a redheaded girl smiles waved at me, dressed in black jeans and a navy blue long sleeved shirt.

"Sure, I'd love to. I just have to make a quick call first." And by quick call, I meant going to the caf at Lozacea and getting an orange chicken lunch. A witch should never subject her or himself to disgusting school lunches.

* * *

"Hey, hey! It's the Littlest Witch coming through!"

I roll my eyes as my cousin wraps her arms around me. She's wearing yet another one of her hundreds of halter tops and blue jeans. Somehow, she makes monotony popular.

"I am _not_ little anymore, Aislynn." I say picking up my newly zapped-up P.F. Chang's takeout.

"You'll always be little to me. You and Keith both." She ruffles up my hair and I frown in annoyance. "Where are you running off to?"

"Back to school. The 'cool kids' want me to sit with them."

"I was wondering what happened to the real Taryn Logan." She makes that annoying 'tsk tsk' noise at me. "You shouldn't have to change yourself to make friends."

"Oh please, the only thing I've actually changed is the fact that I'm wearing make up. You know I 'secretly' like designer clothes and shoes. You know I'm not just trying to fit in." Of course, that was a total lie, but anything to get her off my back.

"I know, I just want you to be careful is all." She leans forward and lowers her voice. "We remember what happened in Los Angeles, right?"

"What happened back then has nothing to do with this. The only reason they liked me there was because I was open about my magic."

"And the only reason the kids here like you now is because of your clothes."

"That doesn't mean they can't like me for who I am as a person. It hasn't even been one day, Lynn. You have to give it time. I'm sure someone in the popular crowd is genuine."

She shrugs. "Maybe, but you can't always be sure."

I pat her arm. "I won't let the big mean kids get to me. So stop worrying, okay?"

My phone blips at me, and I open it up.

 _SMS from Jewel: Were r u?_

"My presence is wanted in New York. I'll see you later." We hug again, and I run out the door.

* * *

"Taryn! Over here!"

I strut over to the center lunch table where a bunch of glossy girls and jocks are sitting. One girl in particular is dressed up in all purple.

"Jewel, who's your new friend?" Asks Barney the Dinosaur.

"I'm Taryn. From L.A." I keep it short and sweet and open up my takeout.

"Smart choice. The food here sucks." Melissa, the redhead from earlier says over a slice of white pizza.

"Yeah. I never eat the crap the schools serve. Even the lunches in L.A. suck."

"So, Taryn? Are you a good dancer?" Barney asks.

I shrug. I have rhythm, if the dance is choreographed, but freestyle? God no.

"Well, we do need dancers for the fashion show. What grade are you in?"

"11th."

"Cool."

The populars all talk amongst themselves, and I take the time to enjoy my orange chicken. I'd thought about getting some rice and kimchi, but I'd probably kill my one chance at popularity with a lunch as dank and funky as fermented spicy cabbage.

My phone blips again, and I open the text.

 _SMS from Aislynn: Look out the window_

I look up, and see her on her broom, waving and smiling.

 _I love you!_ she mouths, then zooms off.

I giggle, then turn to Melissa, who's also staring at the window. She glances at me, a weird look on her face.

"Can I help you?" I raise an eyebrow, challenging her.

"I thought- never mind. So, Marianna…" she turns her attention back to the all-purple senior girl and I giggle again. She'd seen Aislynn, that much was obvious. She'd probably brush it off as her imagination running wild.

Whatever floated her boat.


	2. Bait and Switch

"Mom? I'm home!" I call out. "I brought friends!"

No answer as always. I know she's in the kitchen, writing in her journal. When Keith comes home, they'll be chatting it up all night.

I roll my eyes, then lead Marianna, Jewel and Melissa to my room in the back of the apartment. It's cotton candy themed, but since I hate pink, I went for blue instead. Also courtesy of Aislynn.

"Alright ladies, make yourselves at home, and I'll be back with some snacks." They all sit on my bed and start chatting again. Gee, thanks.

Since I know my mom isn't going to be courteous in any way shape or form, I am prepared. I pop back over to Lozacea to get food (and admittedly a Frappuchino from Starbucks). Since Marianna has hassled me all day about trying out for the fashion show, I have to pick snacks wisely. That means celery and carrot sticks, kale chips, and for myself, vanilla cupcakes.

"Smart." Marianna says, reaching for a celery stick.

I preen, and toss my hair. "I figured you guys would appreciate it. So, tell me more about this fashion show."

Marianna smiles, seeming happy that I'm now interested. "Well, we have it every year right before the Spring Fling dance. We model clothing that's donated to us, on the runway with a dance routine. We're looking for more junior dancers currently."

"Well to be honest, I'm not the absolute best dancer. I only do well with choreography." I take a big bite out of one of the cupcakes. Jewel grimaces.

"All the dance routines are choreographed, so you'll be fine."

"As long as you're not as bad as Rachel Weinstein, it'll be a breeze." Melissa snorts. Jewel manages a small smile.

"I don't even want to know." I mutter.

"Trust me, you really don't. She thinks she's so high and mighty now just because Raf's dating her sorry ass. She was _nothing_ back in freshman year. Everyone sucks up to her because of Raf. It's really pathetic."

"Okay, seriously, will you-" There's a knock at my door, interrupting me. I open it to see Keith standing there with my mom.

"We need to talk to you." Keith says, clipping his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes.

I turn to the girls. "I'll be back in a jiff." I follow them out into the living room and sit on the couch, sighing loudly. I'm not looking forward to the impending lecture, and as soon as the maternal body starts talking, I zone out.

Thinking about magic, (despite how lacking mine was) keeps me calm. I long for the day when I would finally learn enough about magic to earn my spellbook. Every day for me was megels, megels and more megels. I want to do so much more, but it's so hard. Whenever I try to make up my own spells, they fail miserably. Color-change spell? Zap everything completely white. Conjure a pizza in place of a plate of Brussels sprouts? Pizza tastes like veggies. Summon kittens? Nearly get mauled by a lion. Every day, I do megels hoping that one day my spells would go right. When will it happen though?

" _Taryn!_ "

"God, what?" I glare at my mother, who glares right back at me.

"So help me god, Taryn-"

With that I walk back into my room. I glance at my open closet, which the girls have now invaded. Of course they would, they have to confirm that my wardrobe is real.

"Ladies, ladies. Take what you want. I have plenty more." I smirk.

"We have to model this stuff in the fashion show!" Marianna squeals.

"How do you even afford all of this? This is over $20,000 in dresses!"

"I have my ways." I sit on the bed, pleased with myself and Aislynn. She really knows her way around catalogues.

If only being popular was this easy back in L.A. I never would have had to reveal my powers.

* * *

"Well, at least Marianna seems to be somewhat genuine." Aislynn says, braiding my hair.

"How so?"

"She seems to be very focused on that fashion show, but she wasn't the one to make fun of that Rachel girl."

I snorted. "Melissa loves to rag on her. Marianna is nice enough, but yeah, she's reaaaaally focused on the fashion show. All day, she bugged me to try out. I'm almost tempted to try the dancing spell, but I think I'll be okay on my own."

"You should be fine. You don't have to use magic for everything."

I sigh. "I know that. But I wish I could do simple things like the dancing spell. I can't even change the _color of my clothing_ , for god's sake!"

Aislynn picks up a bottle of hair spray and begins spraying the scattered braids. "I know, sweetie. I just wish your mother would teach you instead of leaving you high and dry with nothing but one exercise."

"I wish I could live with you and Aunt Fiore." I mumble. "I wish that we could pretend to run away and never come back."

Aislynn kisses my forehead, and gently pushes my eyes closed.

 _"Maybe we could."_ She whispers, and I fall asleep.

* * *

When I wake up, it's bright out and the sounds of breakfasting fill my ears. That can't be right. Mom never makes breakfast anymore.

I walk out of my room to the kitchen. This is definitely not my mother's apartment. This apartment (as nice and comforting as it was) was completely new to me.

"Mom?" I call out. "Mom?"

No answer. Not even a shout for me to shut up.

When I get to the kitchen, I see my aunt at the stove, cooking up a storm. Blueberry pancakes, French toast, eggs either scrambled or sunny-side up, coffee and iced tea.

"Uh, hi Aunt Fiore. Umm, when did you move?"

My aunt turns and smiles at me, handing me a plate piled high with pancakes. "We moved last night. Aislynn called me up and sprung it upon me. Of course, I should have taken you as soon as you developed your powers. I should have known my sister wouldn't teach you."

I sit down at the table and begin digging into my breakfast. Delicious as always, fluffy pancakes always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Aunt Fiore walks back into the kitchen and begins collecting the dirty dishes, humming to herself as she does so. She always seems so happy, no matter what she's doing. Outside of when she and Uncle Henry got divorced, I'd never really seen her angry or sad. Aislynn and I were really little when it happened, I was three and she was five. Aunt Fiore was also sixteen when she'd had Aislynn and only married Uncle Henry because she felt like she had to. They had been married for six months, but they had started drifting apart before Aunt Fiore had even had Aislynn, at least, according to Uncle Henry.

"Alright, kiddo. Ready to see something cool?" Aunt Fiore winks at me.

"Ready!'

She purses her lips, then chants: _"Dees kicha ooks no asine,_

 _Led ed be wai gleen!"_

My jaw drops as a huge gust of wind blows through the room, sending mine and Aunt Fiore's hair whipping all over our faces. All of the dishes she piled up in the sink start trembling, then they all poof.

"Whoa. Where did it all go?"

Aunt Fiore opens a cabinet, revealing freshly washed dishes. "They've all been washed and replaced."

"Cool. And what was it that you said? I only understood part of it."

" _'This kitchen looks so obscene, let it be wiped clean.'_ Think I should put it in the spell book?"

"Yeah, if there's a Sims version available." I snark. Aunt Fiore laughs. I'd always thought Brixta, the ancient witch language sounded like a five year old made it up. I'd much rather do spells in English or Latin.

"Alright, kiddo. Time to get dressed and on to school. You've only got an hour left."

"That sleeping spell Aislynn put on me was a real _knockout._ I'm always awake three hours before school starts."

"Well, you've got batteries and go spell in your room, so hop to it!"

I give my aunt a kiss on the cheek, then hurry back to my room. I shuffle though my closet until I find some black leggings and a red, black, and white floral shirt. It was almost long enough to be a dress, and it was my favorite outfit I'd worn the past summer. I slip on a pair of black sneakers and some silver bangles. Glancing at my cupcake clock, I groan. 7:30. I still have to unbraid my hair. I'd just have to do it on my way to school. It wouldn't be my first time.

 _"Take me to the place inside my mind,_

 _The power of my fists shall ye bind!"_

* * *

"Taryn!"

I look behind me and see Jewel running up towards me. I smile brightly, and wait for her to catch up.

"You look cute today, Jewel. What's up?"

Jewel smiles and pushes her hair back out of her face. "Marianna wants you to come to the gym after school for tryouts. She said she just wants to see how well you can follow the choreography."

I grimace. "Would it be out of the question to ask if I could do it tomorrow? I'm having dinner with my aunt and cousin and I haven't seen them in forever." By having dinner with them, I really meant starting magic lessons. Once I told Aunt Fiore about the fashion show, she said she'd be willing to switch lessons around if I made it in.

"Aww, that's so sweet. I'm sure Marianna will be okay with it."

"Of course I would. I'm not a tyrant." I turned around to see Marianna and Melissa behind me.

"I'm glad. I know I've only just met you all, but I have a pretty tight schedule now."

"Believe me, it's fine. Even if you can't make it tomorrow, official tryouts are next Wednesday."

I nod, then turn to head towards math, when I bump into someone.

"Sorry, ouch!" I'm faced with a short girl with straight brown hair and brown eyes. Her clothes are average, but the guy she's attached to is far from it.

"Hey Raf. Hey Rachel." Melissa says. She snickers under her breath. I'm instantly reminded of last night when she ragged about some girl named Rachel and wondered if I was staring at the same girl.

"Hi Melissa. Mariana. _Jewel._ " Rachel puts certain emphasis on Jewel's name, then turns around and walks off, dragging Raf with her.

"Well, you've officially met the walking disaster of the fashion show from two years ago." Melissa laughs.

"Okay, what exactly did she do to earn this much shade from you? Did she kill your puppy or something?" I raise a challenging eyebrow at her.

Melissa blinks in surprise, apparently not being used to someone not instantly agreeing with her. "Whatever." She practically stomps off, her flaming red hair flying behind her.

"Wow, Taryn. That's the first time all year _anyone's_ shut her up." Mariana looked impressed.

I shrug. "It's only been two weeks. Has she really been annoying you that much?"

Jewel sighs. "When I became popular my freshman year, I was so excited. Me and Liss got along so well, and I was having fun doing the fashion show. Of course, the fashion show is still super fun, but now I wish I was hanging out with Rachel again."

"Then do it." I say.

"What?"

"Hang out with her. It's not like _you're_ the outcast missing her friend." With that, I walk towards class.


	3. Secrets

" _Take me to the place inside my mind,_

 _The power of my fists shall ye bind!"_

I land in the bathroom with a bang and a crash, tripping and falling on the floor. At the same time, another loud bang followed and someone came crashing on top of me.

"Sorry, ouch!" I think for a second how familiar this situation sounds, then look to see that the person on top of me is Rachel. She, like me, is holding a pair of alkaline batteries.

"Rachel, hi." I say sheepishly.

"Hey—uh, I didn't get your name last time."

I shift my legs underneath me and stand up on my knees, slowly rising up to my feet and helping her up as I go. "Taryn Logan. Nice to meet you."

"You too. So, I'm guessing you're a witch?"

I nod. "Not a very good one. As far as I know, all my pillars are unblocked, but I can't do much with my powers. My cousin has to do most of it for me."

Rachel nods, taking in the information. "Well class is starting soon. Who do you have?"

"Chemistry in 104. Mr. Williams?"

She smiles. "So do I! I've been looking for a lab partner." She looks down. "Unless you'd rather hang with Jewel and Melissa."

I shake my head. "I'd love to. They can be pretty boring at times."

We walk out of the bathroom, our heads held high and hearts soaring.

Or, you know. We just walk to class looking goofy.

* * *

Rachel nudges me while Mr. Williams is distracted. I check the clock, it's 12:30. I give the thumbs up, and she pushes her chair out, crouches down while flicking a bracelet on her wrist, which makes her go invisible.

I go on taking notes like nothing happened, and then the phone on Mr. Williams' desk rings.

"Hello? Yes, they're here. You need to see them immediately? They're not in any trouble, are they? Okay—uh, as long as they've finished their assignment, they're free to go. Could you hold on for a second please? Thank you." He directs his eyes towards me and Rachel's empty chair. "Ms. Logan, you and Ms. Weinst—where is Rachel?"

She pops up beside me. "Right here! Just dropped my pen."

Mr. Williams nods. "Principal Konch wants to see you both now."

I grab my backpack, which except for my pencil case was fully packed. Rachel and I share a wink for a job well done—not just escaping class, but our combined brain power helped us zoom through the assignment.

We hand in our papers and Mr. Williams hands us homework. We groan to humor him, then rush out of the room and into the deserted hall. Rachel snaps her fingers and a broom appears. I need some of her skills.

"Okay, hop on and we'll be out of here in no time!" she says, handing me a bag of sesame seeds. I knew this spell, it was too easy.

We hop on the broom and barrel towards the main entrance, Rachel flicking her bracelet to cloak us. I open the bag and throw some of the seeds and chant:

" _Slack to slick,_

 _Tock to tick,_

 _Believe and see,_

 _Open sesame!"_

We rush out of the doors and into the skies, whooping and hollering as we go. We soar over the school, past skyscrapers and apartments, letting our voices flow through the sky as we do.

Our plan doesn't really extend past 'get out of class and fly around', but we'll work out the kinks later.

Later comes sooner than expected as we descend near a restaurant called T Pie's. I hop off the broom as Rachel lands.

"You hungry?" She says, flicking her bracelet.

"Starved. This place any good?"

"The best. Their delivery though, not the best."

I nod, then brush off my pants. With my height and clothes, I could pass as a college freshman, which would make Rachel pass by extension. Bye, truant officers.

Not that I support truancy or anything! Stay in school!

Rachel finds us a table far away from the windows and I walk up to the front counter. Thankfully, both registers have only one customer waiting.

I saunter forward, and my heart sinks when I see that the cashier in front of me is Keith.

"Taryn?"his expression shifts from surprise to anger in less than a second.

"You little shit! How could you run off without a trace for two days?!"

Keith has an iron grip on my wrist and several people are turning to stare at us. I desperately yank my arm backwards, but he's much stronger than me. Cursing under my breath, I shoot a desperate glance towards Rachel, but she's oblivious to the hell I'm suffering right now.

"Keith, you're hurting me! Let go!" I yank again, and he shakes me, screaming in my face.

I'm wracking my brain for ideas, anything to help me get away. Anything but going 'home' to my mother, if you could even call her that. What kind of mother shows no love to her child, doing nothing but yell, even over stupid stuff? I can't go back! What can I possibly do?!

I stomp on Keith's foot, then bite down hard on his hand. He lets go and yells loudly. I turn and run towards the door, which someone was holding open.

"Run, girl!" the woman shouts, probably thinking I was some battered girlfriend. Well, I suppose I count as a battered sibling, as Keith has beat me up before, and 'mom' did nothing to stop him.

My heart pounds in my chest as I run. Hot tears flow down my cheeks and my legs feel tired. I have no clue where I'm headed, I just need to escape. I raced down unfamiliar streets, nearly tripping a gazillion times. I dare a glance over my shoulder, expecting to see Keith right on my tail. He is not there. I slow my desperate run to a jog, then completely stop, taking in my surroundings. I have no clue where I am. The sky's getting dark, and even though the area looks safe, I can't be too sure.

I glance at my phone. It's 6:45 and I have ten missed calls from Aislynn and two from Rachel. I call Aislynn first, who's crying so hard I have no clue what she's saying, so she has to hand off the phone to Aunt Fiore. I tell her that yes, I am okay, and I will be home soon. I then call Rachel and tell her what happened.

 _"_ _Want me to bring the pizza over?"_ she says.

"Sure, but you'll have to wait a while. My cousin is in hysterics right now."

 _"_ _Because of that guy from earlier?"_

"Yup."

 _"_ _I understand. Get her calmed down first and then I'll come over."_

We hang up and I shuffle through my clutch until I find my batteries.

 _"_ _Take me to the place inside my mind,_

 _The power of my fists shall ye bind!"_

* * *

When I get home, Aislynn is still blubbering, and Aunt Fiore explains to me that because I was home late, Aislynn decided to scry for Keith in her crystal ball, then freaked when she saw him grab me.

"I n-n-never want you g-going back to that place again! I was s-so scared that he was going to t-t-take you and-" Aislynn grabs me around the waist and squeezes the life out of me. I hug her back and kiss her head.

"I'm here Lynnie. I'm okay."I gasp out. I'm not kidding when I say she's squeezing the life out of me.

Aunt Fiore gently pulls her off of me and wipes away her tears. I hear a loud bang in the front of the apartment and see Rachel walking towards us with a big box of pizza. "Hey. I had to zap us up a fresh box, but I'm here."

I nod. "Rachel, this is my Aunt Fiore and my cousin Aislynn."

They both give half-hearted waves and I direct Rachel to the kitchen. I grab a slice of pepperoni pizza and start munching away, while Rachel keeps glancing at my exhausted family members.

"So, who was that guy? The one at T's I mean."

I swallow hard. "My brother." I try megeling the fridge door open, but it only cracks a little.

"I got it." Aunt Fiore walks in and fully opens the door, tossing me a cherry soda. "Anything for you, Rachel?"

"Water is fine."

She tosses Rachel a water bottle, then zaps up a cup of tea for Aislynn. "Keith and Moira, Taryn's mother, are quite abusive towards her. That's the reason we took Taryn away when they moved to New York. On top of not teaching Taryn to control her gifts, Moira verbally abuses her, and Keith is physical with her."

I nod sadly. "I spent a lot of my preteen years getting pounded on by Keith. I've had a lot of broken bones and was regularly covered in bruises. One day, Keith beat me up real bad, and when my mom dropped us off at school, I dragged myself over to the nearest hospital, which was three and a half hours away from my school by foot."

"Oh my god." Rachel mutters in horror.

"Yeah. The doctors told me that they couldn't fathom as to how I walked for so long with a broken foot. To be honest, I think it was the adrenaline. I didn't feel the pain until I walked into the hospital."

"How were you not taken away from them?" Rachel shoots a dirty look at my aunt. "Why didn't you help her sooner?"

Aunt Fiore hung her head in shame. "It was impossible at first. Moira kept us magically numbed. No matter how many times Taryn called or emailed, we were left unable to answer. As for Taryn not being taken away, Moira simply destroyed the evidence."

"It wasn't until my sophomore year of high school when I ran away that Aunt Fiore was able to help me. I had to do something drastic to get her attention." I swallow a sip of soda and take another bite of pizza. I couldn't believe I was telling someone I'd just met all of my dirty family secrets.

"Taryn got her powers when she was twelve, but something is blocking her full potential. I'm still surprised she can perform teleportation spells when she can barely megel after all these years."

"Either way, the only way I could do something was to show up unexpected and tell them what happened. Of course, my initial time here was short lived. I was only able to stay for six months before I was taken away by Keith. Now, it's even harder to stay hidden since we live in the same city."

"Aislynn and I have been using a multitude of protection spells on the apartment. I had to sneak into Moira's home and snip some of her and Keith's hair so the spell won't let them in."

"That's why I'm not allowed to walk to school and back home. Thankfully, Keith graduated high school, but like today, could be anywhere. Now I know why he didn't tell me where he worked."

Aislynn walks in and takes a slice of pizza, her eyes puffy and red.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Aunt Fiore asks.

Aislynn nods, and snuggles into her mother's shoulder.

I check the kitchen clock. It's now 8:15.

"Aunt Fiore, would it be okay if Rachel stayed the night? It's a Friday, so no school tomorrow."

"Well, as long as it's okay with her mother, I don't see why not."

"But Mom, we're supposed to start her training today."Aislynn says, grabbing my hand.

Aunt Fiore pats our shoulders. "The girls are tired. Plus, we can start her training tomorrow. There's nothing wrong with that."

"But—okay. Tomorrow."

I smile at them and hug them both. "I know you're anxious to see what's going on with my magic, I am too. However, I do agree with Aunt Fiore. We should wait until tomorrow morning."

I turn to Rachel, who's video chatting on her phone. She nods a couple of times, then turns back to me. "She said yes."

"Great, you can take my bed and I'll sleep on the floor." Rachel starts to say something, but I hold my hands up. "Before you protest, I have a nice fluffy sleeping bag, I'll be fine."

Aislynn grabs more pizza, then retreats to her room. "Good night!"

"G'night Lynnie!" I call out, leading Rachel to my room.


	4. Unbound Forever

Why am I floating?

I feel myself being turned upside down, and find myself face to face with a smirking Aislynn. She's wiggling her fingers at me in my sleeping bag and Rachel in my bed.

"Wakey wakey, sleeping beauties. Magic training starts in ten minutes!"

Rachel groans and flips over. "I've already been through magic training."

"Perfect! You can help." Aislynn chirps. The sleeping bag is ripped away from me, then Aislynn drops us, and we fall through the floor. Yes, _through_ the floor.

The living room floor is covered in big fluffy pillows that cushion our fall. Someone reaches out their hand to help me up, and I take it, standing up and finding myself looking at the most beautiful girl in the world.

She has thick light brown hair, brown eyes and an elegantly aquiline nose. She smiles and says something to me. I'm too distracted by her to comprehend it.

I hear a loud snapping in my ear and I jump. Aislynn rolls her eyes at me.

"When you decide to stop drooling all over my friend, we can get started. Her name is Alice."

"R-right. Um, I'm Taryn. My friend over there is Rachel." I gesture to Rachel, and she waves.

"Anyways, Mom is out buying oils, so we'll have to wait a few minutes for her so we can diagnose you." Aislynn says, leading us to a black wall in between my room and the bathroom.

I nudge Rachel. "Five bucks says it's a secret door." I whisper.

She nudges back. "Ten bucks says that it's a portal into an alternate universe."

We shake on it as Aislynn removes a silver key from around her neck and presses it to the wall. The silver color spreads all over the wall in large webs.

 _"Open the door to darkness."_ Aislynn chants, and the wall bursts with light as a huge gust of wind blows through the room, transforming the wall into a large iron door.

"HA! Secret door, totally called it!" I shout. I giggle in excitement as Rachel grumbles and poofs me up a five and a ten.

As we walk inside the room, I notice that it's brightly lit. Two large chandeliers hang above our heads, illuminating the shelves packed with jars of powders, herbs, and oils as well as empty vials on the walls. I turn back to Aislynn, who's slipping on a dark purple robe.

"You're in a coven?" I ask.

"My mother and I are the coven. Gran started it back in the forties, and we're continuing it." She muttered a chant and her hair twisted itself into an elaborate braided bun.

"How is she? I haven't seen her since I was a child." I watched as Aislynn lay down a large white sheet in the middle of the room, placing a few jars nearby as well as a leather-bound journal.

"She's not well. She's in a nursing home and she's almost completely lost her powers. She's forgotten I exist. She thinks my mom is still a little girl, and doesn't recognize her."

"Oh." I say softly. I needed to make a note to go see her, even if she didn't know me anymore.

"Aislynn, dear." I jump at the sound of my aunt's voice. I swear, the woman could rob someone blind and they'd never know, she was so sneaky.

"'Scuse me, Taryn. Didn't mean to frighten you. Anyways, I had an interesting conversation with my sister just now."

Aislynn raises an eyebrow. "The same sister you said you would never speak to again?"

"Well, I was disguised as Keith. Got her a little tipsy, and whaddaya know, she spills the beans about why Taryn's powers don't work that well."

"You disguised yourself as my brother?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Yup." She hands me a plain white sleeveless cotton dress. "Put this on, as it's a part of the ritual we have to do."

"What ritual?" I ask as I hug the dress to myself, concentrating hard. I'm way too embarrased to strip in front of all of them, so I'm trying a spell that Rachel taught me. You hug a piece of clothing to yourself and imagine that you're wearing it, say ' _switch'_ and then the outfits, well, they switch.

"Taryn, what on Earth are you doing?" Aislynn laughs, walking towards me.

"Hold on a sec", I grumble, picturing myself wearing the dress. _"Switch!"_

A gust of wind blows through, and sure enough the dress is on me and my pajamas in my arms. Except I've zapped my pajamas white.

"Cute. Anyways, the reason your powers are iffy is because your mother cast a binding spell on you shortly after you were born. It's a very powerful binding spell that only works on infants and children because they haven't developed powers yet. However, it's meant to completely inhibit the target's powers, but some witches and warlocks have enough power to weaken the bind without even realizing it, case in point: you."

"Oh wow." I can hardly believe it! Somewhere, deep inside, I have a power strong enough to actually weaken a _binding_ spell? Almost all binding spells are four or five-broomers, I can only imagine the one my mother used being a six, which makes them notoriously difficult to break.

"So...can we get rid of it?" Rachel asks.

Aunt Fiore nods, putting her own cloak on. "It's going to take all of our magic, but I know we can do it. That's why I let you stay over last night. You're very powerful."

"I am?" Rachel asks.

"Oh, you. Most witches will never know their true power. You know the wind that always blows through when you cast spells? That's the force of your power."

"I've always noticed that when you, Aislynn and my mom do magic, the gusts are so strong that our hair goes flying everywhere. It's like having a mini hurricane in your house." I say, thinking back to just two days ago when Aunt Fiore did her little dishwashing simlish spell, and I faintly remember loose papers flying by me.

"And whenever you try to megel something, your hair floats off your shoulders." Aislynn says, twirling a strand of my hair around her fingers, my dark brown tresses making her skin look ghostly in the low light.

"When you did the unlocking spell on the doors at school, they burst open really hard, like there was a tornado outside." Rachel adds.

"You see? You'd be surprised what kind of power you're housing. Now, lets see to it that you fully get to use them." Aunt Fiore beckons me towards the circle, then takes a small jar of clear, strong smelling oil and pours some into her hands.

"Okay Taryn, I want you to lay down. Focus on your magic, don't use it, just concentrate. Feel your power, how it flows through your veins. What does it feel like to you? How do you picture it?" Aislynn says in a soft voice. I follow her instructions, and Aunt Fiore begins to rub the oil on my forehead, over my heart and on both my hands and feet.

 _"Air to inspire,_

 _Fire for desire,_

 _Water as a healer,_

 _and Earth as our church,_

 _Bless us this night as the Manhattan Shining Lights,_

 _Give us the power to achieve our goals,_

 _As we will it, so shall it be."_

While Aunt Fiore chants, I call to my magic. As always, it only feels like a few tiny rain droplets. I try to focus more, only giving myself a headache. I decide to just focus on the few raindrops I can feel.

"Mom." Aislynn whispers.

"Yes, dear. It's time. Rachel, take mine and Alice's hands. Alice, take Aislynn's hand. Aislynn, you already know." I open my eyes only for a second, but see that my vision has changed, like we're all underwater.

"Focus girls, this is the only chance we have until next month! The dawn of the new moon weakens any binds, no matter how strong!" Aunt Fiore commands them, and I return my focus to my magic's raindrops.

 _"Thaw the ice that created this vice,_

 _Frozen never, unbound forever_

 _Hear this chant with our power and might,_

 _We unbind you on this very night!"_

The four of them all chant together, and just outside, I can hear the violent booming of thunder, and soon after, rain begins to fall. A strong wind begins to blow around the room, the candles from the chandeliers being blown out and forcing us into darkness. The storm continues its rage as a new one begins to form inside my heart. At first, it's still my tiny droplets, but soon it becomes a raging monsoon. The more I focus, the stronger the storm gets, the flow of power in my veins almost overwhelming.

With a flash of lightning, the winds finally dissipate, and the sky begins to clear up once more. My body is tingling with electricity, and I look up towards the chandeliers, willing the candles to be lit once more. Another quick gust of wind blows through the room, and the candles light themselves once more.

I sit up, folding my legs underneath me and looking at Aislynn, who along with her mother is panting heavily. Rachel and Alice are both unconscious.

"Are you all okay?" I ask, worried that I may have caused them permanent damage.

Aislynn nods tiredly. "Any normal witch would be tired after a spell like that. Rachel and Alice will feel better when they wake up. How about you whip us up some witches' brew?"

I nod excitedly. "I can do that! Oh my gosh, _I can do that!"_

I've never tasted witches' brew, nor did my mother ever allow me to make it. It's not a complicated potion, but it still feels like an honor to be able to finally make a staple drink of witchcraft.

Witches' brew is an old old potion. It replenishes the magical reserves as well as giving the witches who drink it a boost in energy. I'd always hoped that if I drank it my magic would get better, but my mother always hid her supply of it.

"Okay, okay. Lemon, mint, honey, black tea." I say aloud as I search the room for ingredients. Picking them up as I go, I smile, thinking about all the cool witchy things I can do now. I'll finally have a Samsorta! I can do all my own spells without any help. Just re-lighting the chandelier was a breeze, and I know I'd have struggled with a simple spell like that just a few minutes ago.

"Do you know the incantation?" Aunt Fiore asks me as I load all the ingredients into the cauldron.

"Yeah." I stand before the cauldron, summon my will and chant:

 _"Replenish and nourish,_

 _give us energy and let our power flourish!"_

A gust of wind blows through the room, nearly snuffing the chandeliers again. What was once a bunch of food items before is now a light blue liquid. Oh my god, I actually did it!

Rachel slowly sits up, holding her head in her hands. "Wow, that was a trip. So, did it work?"

I nod, grabbing four vials from the cabinet next to the cauldron, filling them from the spout on the side. "Have you ever had witches' brew?"

Rachel nods. "Yeah, I went a little crazy with my magic one day, Raf's fault. I felt burned out, so I was flipping through the spell book when I found it. It tastes really good and it works fast."

"Is Raf a-"

"He's a norlock, and he knows I'm magical. All of my friends do. In fact, my best friend Tammy is dating a warlock, and she's a notch."

I swallow hard. After L.A., I swore I would never reveal my magic to any notches and norlocks ever again.

"Okay, I've got five vials of witches' brew all ready!" I say as Alice finally wakes up. I hand out the vials and down mine, enjoying the tingling feeling it left as I drank.

"It tastes like mint and honey." I comment.

"That's right Taryn. The mint and honey are soothing, plus they replenish the magic, and the lemon and tea are what give the energy." Aunt Fiore says, walking to the cauldron and filling up more vials. "These are not allowed to leave this room. Taryn, I am going to trust you with a key. You will not enter this room without mine or Aislynn's permission, do you understand?"

"Yes. Thank you." Aunt Fiore hands me a key identical to the one Aislynn has, and I hang it around my neck.

"Alright girls, lets head back into the living room and practice some magic!"

* * *

I sigh and fall back onto my bed. After several hours of reading and practical spellwork, even with another vial of witches' brew I'm spent. After making fifteen cupcakes (Aislynn has a coworker whose birthday is tomorrow), flying around the apartment building, and a lot of megeling, Aunt Fiore came to the conclusion that yes, my powers are in full working order.

I get a ping from Mywitchbook, and I groan, walking over to my laptop to see who it is. I shrug, it's a friend request from a new person, someone named Hugo. I check out his profile. It says he lives in Germany, his magicality is pink, his hobby is making potions, his heroes are his dad and his sister and that he's single. I look at the picture, and notice that he looks a lot like me. Of course I think nothing of it, there's a lot of people who look like each other. I add him, then shut the laptop off and climb back into bed. We can chat tomorrow, I'm beat.


	5. The Revelation

I wake up to Mywitchbook pinging at me. I groan as I sit up in bed. If it was that Hugo kid again, I swear...

I sit at my desk and check my laptop. Sure enough, it's him. He's been sending me messages nonstop since I added him. I scrolled through, it was mainly pictures and unimportant stuff.

As I'm about to get back into bed for some more sleep, Mywitchbook pings again.

 **Hugo:** _Am I bothering you?_ The message says.

 **Me:** _You're not bothering me. It's just early._

 **Hugo:** _I'm sorry. I forgot about the timezones. I was just really excited to meet you._

 **Me:** _Why? You don't even know me._

 **Hugo:** _You don't know?_

 **Me:** _Know what?_

He logs off, and my phone immediately starts ringing. I nervously answer it.

"Hello?"

 _"Taryn! I don't have much time to talk. Dad is coming home soon, and I don't think he knows, but you need to know."_ The voice on the other end was young, but deep, and heavily accented. I knew it was Hugo.

"What do you want from me, kid?" I say, annoyed.

 _"I want you to know that you're my sister."_

What the hell?

"You can't be serious, kid. You added me to Mywitchbook because you think I'm your sister? I only have one brother, and he doesn't live in Berlin." The nerve of this kid!

 _"I_ know _you're my sister, your father moved to Germany and remarried, I was born two years after you."_

"My father never moved to Germany, he died when I was seven!" I yelled into the phone, tears forming in my eyes.

 _"Taryn, your_ stepfather _died when you were seven. Your_ real _father is alive and well."_

"I don't believe you. Don't ever call this number again!"

 _"Taryn, please listen to me!"_

I hang up and throw the phone into the closet. I bury my face into my pillow and cry. Daddy was the only person who loved me aside from Aislynn and Aunt Fiore. When he was still alive, I was safe from my mother and Keith. They couldn't hurt me when he was around.

I hear the door to my bedroom crack open, and Aunt Fiore steps in. "Honey, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

I can't find it in myself to try and choke out a response, and Aunt Fiore sits on the bed next to me, petting my hair. "Did something else happen?"

"You...you remember Daddy, right?" I sob, looking up at her.

"Of course. Kielan was always such a nice young man, and he always kept Moira in check. It was such a shame when he died."

"He was...he was my real dad, right?" She has to say yes. He was the only father I'd ever known.

"I...how did this come up, exactly?"

My heart thuds in my chest. "He was my real dad, wasn't he?" I ask again, louder.

"That's...not...this isn't my discussion to have, Taryn." Aunt Fiore begins to stand up, but I grab her arm hard.

"Was he my real dad, yes or no?!"

Aunt Fiore pulls away from me, and stares into the vanity mirror. Her shoulders begin to shake, and she hangs her head.

"No. After Three years after Moira had Keith, she met a man on a business trip. She was gone for two weeks, but that was all it took. She lied to the man, and told him she was single. They had an affair, and Moira came back home happy as could be. When she called and told me she was pregnant, I was excited for her. I didn't even know she'd cheated on Kielan until you were a year old. She said you didn't look like him, that you weren't his. When you were five, Kielan took you to the doctor's and had them do a DNA test on you. Even though he found out about the affair, he still loved you like you were his own, so they never told you."

"Why didn't _you_ tell me?!"

Aunt Fiore glares at me, tears streaming down her face. "It wasn't my right to tell you! I'm not your mother!"

"But you are my aunt, and I deserved to know! You were more than happy to tell me my mother is the reason my magic didn't work right but you didn't have the decency to tell me that she cheated on Daddy? I'm not a child anymore, I'm seventeen!"

"I know that, Taryn! You think I didn't want to tell you? We all know my sister is a monster, she's so horrible to everyone but her precious son!"

"And now I know why." We fall into silence for a while, the only sounds coming through the room were the TV in the living room and the hum of my laptop. Aunt Fiore sits on the bed again, facing away from me, her head hanging once more.

"You're right. I should have told you the first time you stayed with us. I just didn't know how. You were so _happy,_ I couldn't bear to ruin that for you. I wanted Moira to grow the hell up and tell you herself. She's the one who made the decision to cheat on her husband after all."

"Why didn't he fight for me?" I whimper.

"Who?"

"My father. Why didn't he fight for custody? If this Hugo kid is telling the truth, that my real dad is alive and living in Germany, why didn't he fight to take me with him?"

Aunt Fiore pulls me into her arms, and I don't fight her. "I don't think he knows about you. Moira never contacted him again after she left Florida."

I cry harder, and Aunt Fiore rocks me back and forth, singing lightly until I fall asleep.

* * *

"Mom?"

I open my eyes to see Aislynn standing in my room. The warm shoulder I've been resting on was Aunt Fiore's I remember the revelation I'd had earlier, and move away from her.

"Aislynn, what is it?" My aunt groans, rubbing her eyes. So she'd fallen asleep too.

"Um, there's this boy at the front door. He says he's Taryn's brother. I don't know what he's talking about though."

"Hugo." I mutter.

Aislynn gives me a questioning look. "You know him?"

"He added me to Mywitchbook yesterday. Does he have the same color hair as me, but really long and shaggy?"

"Yes?"

I run to the front door and yank it open, ignoring Aislynn shouting my name. The boy before me was my height, and looked exactly like the boy named Hugo from Mywitchbook.

"Taryn." Same voice and accent. It's him.

"Come inside. You need to explain everything." I say, looking him in the eyes.

They were the same green as mine.


	6. Family Reunion

"Our father's name is Joss Weaving." Hugo says, sipping on a cherry soda.

"What does he do for work? Does he know about me?" I ask, wringing my hands together nervously.

"He's a telemarketer, and like I said on the phone, I don't know if he knows about you."

"Is he a warlock?"

Hugo nods. "My mother is a witch too."

I nudge him. "Obvi, if she wasn't, you wouldn't have magic."

"Really?" Hugo looked genuinely surprised. "I thought you just had to have one magical parent to be a witch or warlock."

"Nope!" Aislynn explains. "If the mother isn't a witch, the children won't be either."

"Back to more important topics. If our dad doesn't know about me, how did _you_ find me?" I ask, poofing up a soda for myself.

"He told me about an affair he had seventeen years ago. He told me her name was Moira Stefansdottir, that she was unmarried and the affair lasted two weeks."

"Our maiden name is Stefansdottir." Aunt Fiore whispers, barely loud enough for us to hear.

"So, out of curiosity, I searched for her on Meinhexenbuch. I-"

"You searched her on what?" We're all confused.

"Meinhexenbuch. The German language version of Mywitchbook. Anyway, I found her as Moira Logan, and her son Keith. I thought 'oh, that'd be funny if he was my brother'. But then I looked through Keith's pictures, and saw the picture of his father, who we know already passed, and the resemblance was uncanny. I figured that was it, I didn't have another sibling, but then I saw the list of profiles he'd visited. Keith checks your profile a lot, Taryn."

"I know, that's why I blocked him." I say.

"When I saw your face, I knew. We look exactly like our father."

"That's us Stefansdottir girls, we always look like our fathers." Aislynn says mirthlessly.

"I found out last year, but I didn't want to tell you right away. I didn't want to scare you off, but since my parents don't have profiles on Meinhexenbuch, I thought it'd be okay to put you on my profile as one of my heroes."

"Awww. Do you have any pictures of him?" I ask, smiling.

Hugo is about to speak again, when his phone begins to buzz. The caller ID says _'Dad'_.

"Um, _h_ _allo?_ " he says nervously, putting the call on speakerphone.

 _"HUGO ALOYSIUS WEAVING, WHERE ARE YOU?"_ The voice on the other end shouts so loudly we all jump. I find it strange that he doesn't have an accent like Hugo, but I remember Hugo saying he'd moved to Germany, not that he'd returned.

"Um, not home?" Hugo's voice is shaking.

 _"Not home? Not in the country is more like it! What the hell are you doing in New York state?!"_

"Dad, I'm sorry, but I'm really busy right now. I have to go. I'll be-"

 _"Don't you dare try to hang up on me! Your mother is worried sick, you're fifteen for God's sake, you can't just go poofing around wherever and whenever you like! What are you doing in New York?!"_

Hugo sighs heavily, and looks at me. I nod, squeezing his hand gently.

"Dad...Dad, I found my sister."

There's a long moment of silence before the voice speaks again, this time much calmer. _"Hugo, that's ridiculous. You're an only child."_

"No, I'm being serious, Dad. Do you remember the woman you met in Florida seventeen years ago?"

 _"Moira Stefansdottir. She lied and told me she wasn't married."_

"You got her pregnant, Dad. You have a daughter." Hugo looks up at me and smiles. "She's right here with me."

Heavy breathing. Finally, the voice speaks again. _"Are you sure? Absolutely sure?"_

"Why not come see for yourself? That's okay, right?" Hugo directs the second question towards Aunt Fiore, who nods.

The line goes dead, and Hugo looks sad. "I guess he-"

A loud bang comes from the right and we all jump again. A tall, stern-looking man stands before us, wearing a navy blue business suit. He looks us all over, then stops when our eyes meet. The recognition sets in, and his face softens.

"Hi." I manage. "I'm Taryn."

He doesn't say anything, he keeps staring at me. I can see the flood of emotions coursing through him. Surprise, elation, sadness, regret, _love._

"All these years...all these years and I never knew. My little girl, I always wanted a little girl." His eyes begin to tear up, and mine start to sting as well.

"I'm not little anymore, but I'm still yours." I choke up.

"Dad, she's real. She's right here." Hugo grabs my hand and walks me closer to our father, who's frozen in place.

I slowly reach out for him, and touch his arm. He seemingly snaps out of his frozen haze and looks down at my hand, as though he's making sure Hugo's telling the truth, that I am real.

" _Mein kleines Mädchen."_ He whispers, and pulls me into a tight hug. I rest my head on his shoulder, and wrap my arms around him, smiling as tears run down my face. " _Mein schönes kleines Mädchen."_ I don't know what he's saying, but I can only imagine it's wonderful things.

We stand there for a while before Aunt Fiore clears her throat. We all turn to face her.

"Well, I don't _want_ to interrupt this moment, but the girls haven't eaten yet. You're welcome to join us for breakfast if you like."

Hugo begins to laugh loudly, doubling over and holding his stomach. Aunt Fiore looks at him, utterly confused.

"What did I say?" She asks, glancing at me.

"We live in Germany, we had breakfast like, five hours ago!" Hugo is still doubled over laughing, and I roll my eyes. Fifteen year olds, I swear.

"Well, you're still welcome to join us. I'm making blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs. Taryn, could you help me out in here? I'd like you to cook up some sausage."

I nod. "Yes, Aunt Fiore." I open the refrigerator and take out the sausages, heating up a pan on the far right of the stove.

"Mom, what can I do?" Aislynn asks.

"Set the table for five, _without_ using your magic, please. I don't need my tablecloths getting zapped weird colors again." Aunt Fiore puts on her favorite apron, which she usually wears to bake. It always smells of vanilla and lemon.

"Mo-om, I was ten when that happened, and it was an accident!" Aislynn whines.

"Aislynn..." Aunt Fiore warns.

"Okay, okay. No magic."

While the sausages are cooking, I help Aislynn set the table. I get out the orange, apple, and cranberry juice, start up the coffee pot, and pour the respective juices into Aunt Fiore's homemade pitchers. Aislynn puts our embroidered placemats in front of our usual seats, and places two blank ones in front of Hugo and my father. After a few seconds, the placemats embroider themselves with their names.

"Wow, you guys really go all out, don't you?" Hugo asks, gingerly touching the placemat now labled with his name.

"This is breakfast every day for us." Aunt Fiore smiles at them, piling a large plate high with blueberry pancakes. I take the plate and set it on the table, and return my attention to the sausages, which are almost fully cooked. We all like our sausages to have crispy skins, I personally enjoy the 'snap!' they make when you bite into them.

"Hmm. I usually eat cereal and bread rolls." Hugo glances at our dad.

"Hugo, your mother has tried many times to teach you how to cook, but you're just too lazy."

"Muesli tastes good, Dad! There's nothing wrong with just having cereal!"

"I didn't say that, I just said you're too lazy to learn how to cook."

"Trust me, when he tastes Aunt Fiore's food, he'll be begging to learn how she does it." I say, loading the sausages and eggs onto a plate and placing them on the table. Aunt Fiore takes the coffeepot and places it onto a potholder on the table.

"Taryn, would you like the honors of cleaning the kitchen?" She asks, mussing my hair up.

"Okay." I turn to the disaster zone, take a deep breath, and focus my magic.

 _"This kitchen looks so obscene,_

 _Let it be wiped clean!"_

A gust of wind blows through the kitchen, and the pots and utensils all tremble, then poof out of sight. I hear the pots and pans clatter into place in the cabinet, and I smile, satisfied.

"Let's eat!" I say excitedly, reaching for some pancakes and a sausage. Hugo and our father both reach for the sausage and eggs, and Aislynn just grabs a pancake. Aunt Fiore pours herself some apple juice and treats herself to a pancake and eggs.

"So Taryn, I've noticed that you've gotten taller. Are your clothes fitting you okay?" Aunt Fiore asks.

I nod, scooping up some eggs. "My clothes fit fine, but I've had a ridiculous appetite ever since the unbinding spell. I've actually lost some weight since then, too."

"Yes, I noticed that too. When someone's magic is inhibited the way yours was, the release can cause the body's metabolism to speed up. You might actually keep your good metabolism if you eat right and exercise."

"I already do that." I say. "I've done that my whole life, well at least the eating right part. Kinda hard to exercise with broken bones."

 _"What?"_

At that moment, I'm reminded that the father I never knew existed is sitting at the table with us. Hugo swallows hard.

"Joss, I'm sorry. There are things you need to know about the way Taryn was treated by her mother and Keith, but they can wait. Let's just-"

"I'd much rather know about them _now_. I assume there's a reason she's living with you instead of her mother, yes? And what's this about an _unbinding spell_?"

I slowly stand up, facing my father. "I want to finish my breakfast first. A lot has happened in the past three months since I moved in with Aunt Fiore, but I would rather talk about them after I've eaten."

"I agree, let's finish eating first and then we can talk about how shitty of a person my aunt is." Aislynn muttered.

"Aislynn!"

"Sorry, mom. You know it's true, though."

"That doesn't negate the fact that you're living under my roof and there is a strict 'no profanity from persons under the age of twenty' rule in this house, and last I checked, you're nineteen."

Aislynn sighed. "Yes, mom."

After that, the rest of our meal is uncomfortably quiet. I loose my appetite at some point, a fact I don't realize until I look down at my plate and see a mush of pancakes, eggs and sausage in the middle of my plate.

"Eww." I push my plate away and walk to the couch, sighing as I sink into it's familiar and warm plushness. I look up at the ceiling, the blank white staring back down at me. The last time I'd talked about my past abuse was with Rachel. I'd ended up crying in her arms at some point during the night. I'd spent so much of my life trying to block it out, and even when I'd first ran away to Aunt Fiore and Aislynn, I let Aunt Fiore search my memories instead of telling her myself, mainly because she insisted that she could handle it because of her past work with young abuse victims. Talking about it brought those memories back, memories I desperately didn't want.

I feel the couch sink slightly, and l look over to see Hugo looking at me, sadness in his eyes.

"They broke your bones?" He whispers, his voice trembling.

I nod. "My brother. Well, half-brother."

"Brothers don't break their sister's bones. Siblings aren't supposed to hurt each other." Tears are welling up in his eyes now. "How often did it happen?"

I begin to cry. "I can't remember. I was always covered in bruises, and Keith broke my bones multiple times. It was so awful."

Hugo lets out a silent wail and hugs me tightly. I bury my face in his hair, trying not to be loud, but failing miserably. I've cried so many tears in my life, it still surprises me that I have any left.

Hugo pulls away from me and wipes his eyes on his black sleeves, then puts his head in his hands. He's still trembling.

"I never...I never imagined it could be so bad. I thought it was weird that Keith was always on your profile but never posted anything, that you didn't have either of them as friends. I didn't know they were hurting you."

"No one knew, not until I was fifteen. My mother did everything she could to cover up all the damage she did."

"I hope I never meet her. I'd send her flying off the tallest cliff I could find."

I'm about to playfully scold him when my father and Aunt Fiore walk in having a heated argument.

"Joss, there was nothing I could do, Moira kept us magically numbed to Taryn's existence for most of her life. If Taryn hadn't come looking for us, who knows what could have happened! The fact of the matter is that she's here now and she's safe, she's happy! Why can't you let her have that?!"

"I'm just finding out today that I have a teenage daughter who was abused for most of her life. She's coming back with me, where she belongs, and that's final!"

"You can't just take her away from me, especially not in the middle of her training! She's happy and loved here, she's protected from Moira and Keith here. She has friends, she's made a life here and you to want to drag her off to a country she doesn't even speak the language of in the beginning of her junior year?"

"You think she's safe living in the same city as those monsters? What if one day, she's walking down the street and she gets snatched up by one of them? Then what, Fiore?!"

"Stop it!" I yell. Both of them turn to look at me. "First of all, just because I'm your daughter doesn't give you the right to take me away from my aunt. Second of all, once November hits, I'm going to be eighteen, which means neither of you will have legal custody over me. Until then, I still have the choice of who I want to stay with, and I'm choosing Aunt Fiore. She's done so much for me, she uprooted her life just so I could spend the rest of my time in high school happy and motivated, so that I could spend more time with my cousin and build a stronger relationship with her. In the short time I've been here, Aislynn has become the older sister I always wanted, just like the last time I was here. It was in fact, Aislynn's idea for them to move to a new unplotted apartment. Only witches can find us, and my mother and brother are magically barred from entering. Forever."

"Dad..." Hugo looks up expectantly.

"What is it, son?"

"You know, it's not like we can't visit her often. We're warlocks after all, we can teleport whenever and wherever. You don't have to take her away to have a relationship with her. Please, Dad."

Our father glares at the floor for a while, then returns his gaze to us.

"You promise me that you're happy here? They're doing all they can for you?"

I nod vigorously. "If I weren't happy here, I'd just run away again."

"Please keep in touch." He looks at Aunt Fiore. "If you need anything, anything at all-"

"I'll let you know, Joss. I promise."

He nods, and gestures to Hugo. "We'd better head back home, your mother is very upset with you right now."

Hugo sighs, and hugs me tightly. I kiss his head and return the hug, promising him under my breath that I'd pop over as soon as I could. After another life-squeezing hug from my father, they both pop away, and I let out a long breath, looking at my aunt and cousin.

"Things just keep getting crazier, don't they?" I ask.

"Well, that's what happens when you're a witch." Aislynn says, and we all laugh.


End file.
